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Definition: Smooth Streaming


An HTTP-based adaptive streaming protocol from Microsoft introduced in 2008 with IIS 7.0. Natively supported in Silverlight and Windows Phone, Smooth Streaming superseded Microsoft's Intelligent Streaming and ASF format in Windows Media Services. As of Version 4.0 (2010), IIS Media Services could repackage videos to Apple's streaming format on the fly (see HLS).

Microsoft Adaptive Streaming History
"Stream thinning," which decreased frame rates on slow networks, dates back to 1998. Two years later, Windows Media Services introduced streaming with multiple bit rates using the ASF format, which supported multiple tracks in a single file. In 2002, Intelligent Streaming was launched with improved handling in both the server and Windows Media Player client. See Windows Media Services, fragmented MP4, adaptive streaming and streaming server.